Impact of Hot and Cold Aisle Containment on Data Center Temperature and Efficiency

LEGACY CONTENT: This content is older yet still valid and provides valuable insights. However, it may contain data and/or messaging written under different technological or market circumstances. ------ Both hot-air and cold-air containment can improve the predictability and efficiency of traditional data center cooling systems. While both approaches minimize the mixing of hot and cold air, there are practical differences in implementation and operation that have significant consequences on work environment conditions, PUE, and economizer mode hours. The choice of hot-aisle containment over cold-aisle containment can save 43% in annual cooling system energy cost, corresponding to a 15% reduction in annualized PUE. This paper examines both methodologies and highlights the reasons why hot-aisle containment emerges as the preferred best practice for new data centers.